Spring is finally here and I went for a run outside yesterday! I’m not sure how or why I fell into the habit of not running during the winter…oh wait yes I do, it is below freezing and there is a ton of snow on the road and sidewalks! And running on the treadmill is too tedious, I’d rather lift weights when I go to the gym!

It felt wonderful to get back out there. Of course it wasn’t a very long, or a very fast run, but that’s OK. Just do it! Right? I haven’t signed up for any races yet so I don’t have anything to work toward, but I’d best get started.

I had a great race today! It was the 36th annual Market Square Day 10K in Portsmouth, NH. The race kicks off Market Square Day which is a celebration of arts and culture in downtown Portsmouth. The streets are closed to traffic, and there are street vendors, entertainers, and activities for kids throughout the downtown.

The race starts right at Market Square and makes a 6.2 mile loop around the city. It is a fun race with people lining the route cheering for the runners. I had a few friends along the way and it is always so encouraging to see them!

As this was my first 10K this year, (actually since 2012) I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of time. I had run a bunch of 5Ks this year and my time ranged from 8:54 for my first race to 7:47. I was shooting for under 9 minute miles for today’s 10K.

Well I was very happy with my time of 52:42 (8:29 pace)! This is the best 10K time I have had in years (In 1999 I ran a 10K in 45:21 (7:17 pace) but I was 15 year younger then! My overall goal is always to finish in the top 10% of my age group, and while I didn’t quite make that today I was close (16 out of 143, top 11%) and very, very pleased! I guess the speed work my running partner and I have been doing is really paying off (Thanks Coach CJ)!

Of course I pretty much took the rest of the day off. I ate, took a LONG, HOT shower, took a nap, ate some more, read a little, and now it is almost 6:00 pm and time for dinner.

I had a GREAT race this morning! It was the April Fool’s 4 Miler in Salisbury, MA

The weather was about 50 degrees and slightly overcast, and the course was flat. I felt really good after my first mile and so I picked up the pace and never looked back!

I finished in 33 min, 41 sec, for a 8:26 pace! Very good, considering my first 5K this season was a 9 minute pace. My division rank was an impressive 7th place, (but there were only 32 others women in my age group!). Overall I finished 259 out of 825 runners. I am very pleased with these results.

I started off the day with a nice flat 5K. It was my first race in over a year and a half and it felt good! The race was the Smuttynose Palooza and was part of the Will Run for Beer Race Series. This is a series of 7 races, and if you complete 5 you get a Will Run for Beer Jacket — Hopefully I will be sporting that after this season! It was a beautiful day, high 30’s sunny and no wind.

The course was a flat out and back course. It felt really good to be out there with hundreds of other runners, and even better when I turned around at the half way point and saw over half of them still behind me! I finished with a respectable time of 27:40 (sub 9 minute miles!). Overall I came in 302 out of 903 and 16th out of 80 in my age group (top 20%). Not bad, but I have a lot of work to do if I am going to make my goal of running a 5K in under 25 minutes!

A great race yesterday, the Fox Point Sunset 5 Miler in Newington, NH. The course was nice, starting off in the old historic village, running a bit through the Newington Town Forest (the oldest town forest in the US), down toward Great Bay and then back toward the town.

As you can imagine, whenever there is a “down toward the bay” there are some hills as you climb out! While the course started off flat and then downhill toward the Bay, from mile 3-5 we had a steady climb from 21 ft to 110 ft as we moved back toward the town, with an uphill finish!

But I was very pleased with my race. Knowing the course and knowing that I’d lose time on the hills, I went out faster than usual, I relaxed a bit on the third mile to recover and get ready for the hills, and then I did my best to the finish. I ended up in 42:21, virtually tied to my time from last year 42:20. The exciting part is that I achieved my goal of top ten in my age group, finishing 6th out of 61 in my category!